Philosophy

The word can intimidate, it is dismissed; like a lover it is often misunderstood.

It makes many people turn the page.

It is the most influential ignored factor in our lives.

You might argue the computer has taken this role, but the computer would not exist without philosophy, that’s how under the radar philosophy is.

We mostly skim the surface of life, everyday needs require it, our brains are wired to form and take shortcuts, so we don’t have to reason out the gritty details of why we do what we do from moment to moment.

That’s what philosophy is, reasoning out the details, attempting to bring them to the surface. It’s a difficult task, because it’s impossible to function below the surface: Who has time, moment to moment, or even hour to hour, to reason out how the phone lines’ vibrations more or less faithfully reproduce my voice? Or why my grandaughter learned irony by age four? I make the call, I smile at her intelligence.

I love doing the reasoning, reflecting on the ‘deeper,’ more important things in my life, in life. I love philosophy. I love the tingling in my cortex when I read Heidegger; he leads me down creative pathways.

I try to live my life philosophically (this is radically different than adhering to a philosophy.)

And I am diappointed that more people don’t share my passion.

Philsosphy gives my life meaning. Without it, I am just taking up space, filling time; and it’s the only time and space I have. Be immoral to waste it.

Maybe I’ll have Wittgenstein for lunch.